In memoriam: Wen Ko

In a career spanning six decades, Wen made numerous contributions to the fields of biomedical and electrical engineering. He is credited with helping to pioneer micro-sensors, actuators, integrated microsystems, medical implants, telemetry and packaging. His work on physical and chemical (gas) microsensors in early 1970s represents one of the earliest efforts in this field.

The prolific researcher published about 150 journal papers and accrued 26 patents.

Wen, a native of China, received his MS from the Case Institute of Technology in 1956 and his PhD in 1959. He joined the faculty in 1959 and went on to work at Case Western Reserve for nearly 60 years, establishing and leading the Electronics Design Center, before retiring in 1993. During his tenure, he advised more than 150 MS and PhD students.

In recognition of his accomplishments, Wen was elected Fellow of IEEE Biomedical Engineering Society and Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering in 1992. In 2014, he received the Meritorious Service Award from the Case Alumni Association for exemplary service to the CAA and the School of Engineering.

Wen and Christina, his wife of 60 years, were leaders in the Chinese American community of Cleveland before moving to Palo Alto in 2014.